Modern explorers have brought to light numerous relics, and the ground-plan of the splendid palace of Shushan, one of the residences of the great king, together with numerous specimens of ancient art, which illustrate the statements of Scripture regarding it (Dan. 8:2). The great hall of this palace (Esther 1)…

“consisted of several magnificent groups of columns, together with a frontage of 343 feet 9 inches [104.8 meters], and a depth of 244 feet [6.2 meters]. These groups were arranged into a central phalanx of thirty-six columns (six rows of six each), flanked on the west, north, and east by an equal number, disposed in double rows of six each, and distant from them 64 feet 2 inches [19.6 meters].”

The inscriptions on the ruins represent that the palace was founded by Darius and completed by Artaxerxes.